Liberty and Prosperity
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Liberty and Prosperity’
The spread of Western civilisation must not be credited to European policy, but to a culture of curiosity, enterprise and defiance.
Adam Smith, writing in 1776, the year that her American colonies declared independence from Great Britain, reminded his readers that the Americans had no obligations towards London. The thirteen colonies had been founded by Englishmen, but not by England. No European colony abroad had come into being through Government policy.
Edmund Burke takes time off from campaigning for liberty to reflect on the delights of captivity.
Edmund Burke remains one of the most significant statesmen in British history, who spoke up for the American colonists and the people of India as well as the English working man. Around the time of his marriage to Jane Mary Nugent in 1757, Burke also shared with us some thoughts on his ‘Idea of a Woman’.
George Canning warned the Commons to be very careful about their plans for reform.
In 1820, republican reformers called for the way MPs were elected to be standardised, and for the composition of the Commons to reflect modern society. But George Canning – MP for Liverpool, irreverent rhymester, and illegitimate son of an actress – had little wish for any system crafted by career politicians to favour their own well-bred clones.
George Canning urged Britain not to bring Continental Europe’s topsy-turvy politics home by getting too closely involved.
George Canning MP was grateful for the British Constitution’s balance between monarchy and democracy. He saw no such balance on the European Continent, still reeling from Napoleon’s grab for power, and during a speech in Liverpool in 1820 warned against letting our neighbours’ confusion spread here.
William Gladstone warns voters not to leave foreign policy in the hands of interventionist politicians.
In a speech in Scotland in 1879, William Gladstone apologised for raising the subject of Foreign Policy, but explained that ordinary voters cannot afford to ignore such matters. Once Britain starts meddling in international affairs, the result will be war, and taxpayers foot the bill.
William Gladstone explains that a truly ‘exceptional nation’ respects the equality and rights of all nations.
In 1879, William Gladstone MP berated his rival Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister, for turning Russia into Europe’s bogeyman. Patriotism, Gladstone said, is a healthy thing, but the true patriot is generous, and never claims for his own country rights and dignities he denies to others.